In 2025, fire departments serving Howard City responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Howard City's departments reported 10 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 23 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $290K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | -61.0% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +81.2% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -27.6% | |
| 2025* | 10 | — |
* Well below Howard City's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Howard City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 22.7% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Howard City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 4.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Howard City departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Howard City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,642 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 23.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 11.5 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Howard City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Howard City.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.